USS Barry

The USS Barry has been a prominent sight on the Anacostia River for the last 31 years, but it is soon to be turned into scrap. That’s because it is becoming land-locked once construction starts on the replacement for the nearby Frederick Douglass Bridge. The current bridge has a swing span that will open to let tall ships out, but the new bridge will be just 50 feet tall, and the USS Barry is 150 feet tall. It can’t just be left to rot where it is, and keeping it repaired isn’t possible without being able to haul it to a shipyard.

The USS Barry was active between 1954 and 1982, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, and being part of the blockade in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The USS Barry was one of 18 Forrest Sherman class destroyers manufactured. Three of them remain as museum ships; the others were sunk in training exercises or turned into scrap.

Here are some photos of the U.S.S. Barry taken in the late afternoon a couple of weeks ago: